The Beginning

It all started with Saddam Hussein (the leader of Iraq) ordering the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait in early August 1990. Hussein defied United Nations Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991, and the Persian Gulf War began with a massive U.S.-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. Desert Storm was The first major foreign crisis for the United States after the end of the Cold War presented itself in August 1990.